Combat Operations in Historical Battles

Dramatic scenes of artillery and infantry during key WWII battles, including flanking maneuvers and support efforts in extreme environments.

Tinian, Northern Mariana Islands, July 24, 1944Coast Guard manned landing barges hitting the beaches during the invasion of Tinian Island.

05/31/1918. The fight against the Aviators. Canadian Anti-Aircraft Battery at the time the fire started.

Japan/USA: US flamethrower tank in action against entrenched Japanese, Battle of Iwo Jima, March 1945

Heavy Equipment Landed At Saipan -- After carving a road with dynamite and bulldozers from a steep embankment bordering the beachhead at Saipan, 7th AAF aviation engineers move heavy equipment inland from beached Lst's . The engineers will build and maintain airstrips, fortifications and communications lines. July 10, 1944. (Photo by Associated Press Photo).

The British Army in Burma 1945 Infantry and Sherman tanks under fire near a village during the advance south from Meiktila to Rangoon, 3 May 1945.

Japanese invasion of China, 1937. Chinese troops behind hastily constructed barricades behind the Commercial press building in the Chapei District of Shanghai.

Artillery and tanks advance Operation Barbarossa - German Invasion of Russia, 1941 - 15th Infantary Division of the Thuringia-Kurhessen Division

An M-60A1 main battle tank from the 1ST Tank Battalion fires a round from its main gun as the battalion conducts live-fire training during Operation Desert Shield.. Subject Operation/Series: DESERT SHIELD Country: Saudi Arabia(SAU)

Anefo photo collection. Collect in shellshoek with Phoenix Caisson to the right height of the Ringdijk. August 18, 1953

Tinian, Northern Mariana Islands, July 24, 1944Coast Guard manned landing barges hitting the beaches during the invasion of Tinian Island.

Light rail ammunition trasport Battle of Langemarck 19-08-1917

Marines Advance On Iwo -- Marines stage a frontal attack on Jap positions in the ridges of Northern Iwo Jima. The blast in center is from Jap mortar shells meant for the tank at left. According to the caption received with this photo, this advance netted twenty yards. March 10, 1945. (Photo by AP Wirephoto).

French paratroops dropped near Cho-Ben, Indo-China, during a November 10 surprise attack backed by French and Vietnam ground forces and artileery, cross, a small bridge which was left standing by the disconnected and retreating Viethminh rebel force. As the paratroops mopped up the Rebel settlement, a column moved up from the south and another hurried down from the north in a giant pincer movement which caught many pockets of retreating troops - at the village of doy-couy, some 30 miles South of Hanoi, The Vietnam left nearly 200 dead. November 28, 1951.

06/30/1937. A house that dominated a part of the Perdices slope, and that was destroyed by the Republican troops in a coup d'état. In the background, the city of Madrid.

A training grounds with a number of Dutch military vehicles during exercises of the Royal Netherlands Army in the Baumholder area (West Germany). In the foreground a number of soldiers are talking. The vehicle immediately behind it is a DKW Munga.

Woerner Eugen (herr) Collection Unloading 21 cm. (long) shells at a dump. Guillemont.

Hard-Hitting 50-ton Centurion tanks and their crews on parade at ***** today when the Cheif of the General Staff, Lieut-General S.F. Rowell, inspected the First Armored Regiment. Riding in a jeep General passed slowly down the ***** of 35 tanks. November 05, 1952.

U.S. Marines dig in on Beach at Saipan, U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Marine Corps photo, June 1944

Marines from Company D, 3rd Amphibious Assault Vehicle (AAV) Battalion, stand behind an M-816 5-ton wrecker truck during Operation Desert Shield.. Subject Operation/Series: DESERT SHIELD Country: Saudi Arabia(SAU)

The Battle of the Somme, July - November 1916 The Royal Engineers No.1 Printing Company: 9.2 inch gun firing.

Algerian Desert Maneuvers. Photographs of Marshall Plan Programs, Exhibits, and Personnel

U.S. Combat Engineers return North Korean sniper fire after the Battle of Yongdong, July 31, 1950. Korean War, 1950-53. (BSLOC_2014_11_9)

Royal Air Force in the Middle East, 1944-1945. Trainee gunners undergoing instruction in a powered mobile Boulton Paul Type 'E' tail turret at No. 76 Operational Training Unit, Aqir, Palestine.

Look To The Skies -- Radar operator Cpl. Joseph E. Brunner, Onaga, Kansas, Adjusts his radar scope device as cannoneers Pfc. Eugene E. Keeney and Pvt. Gene E. Ball, Frederick town, Missouri, stand by for action. They are members of battery a, 531st anti aircraft artillery Bn., Fort Bliss, Texas. December 06, 1954. (Photo by Official U.S. Army Photo).

Anefo photo collection. Tank crew looks fires distance. 1945. Indonesia, Dutch East Indies

Guarding Canada's Pacific Coasts -- The Muzzle of a Bofors Anti-Aircraft Gun points westward on Canada's Pacific coasts in readiness for enemy air Raiders. Because of the deafening noise that accompanies the rapid fire of these guns the cease fire order is given the trigger man by a yank of the rope which the soldier at the left holds in his hand. This gun and others like it are manufactured in Canada. January 14, 1942. (Photo by Associated Press Photo).

The Sicialian Landings: Dawn July 10, 1943 -- Glimpse of the invasion coast as an armoured vehicle was being towed ashore from landing craft.This is one of a striking series of pictures taken just after dawn on July 10th by an Official Naval Photographer who accompanied the assault forces to Sicily. They show something of the Navy's big part in the successful landing operations-and after. July 20, 1943. (Photo by British Official Photograph).

German Tanks -- The end of an attack ***** tanks and armored vehicles left at large by their drivers after an engagement with South African troops in the Lybian Campaign. May 16, 1942. (Photo by The Associated Press of Great Britain Ltd.)

Anefo photo collection. Royal Dutch Brigade Princess Irene. Landing Normandy. August 1944. France, Normandy

British Wade Ashore on Sicily -- British troops wade ashore from landing craft somewhere on Sicily. This is an official British photo. July 14, 1943. (Photo by AP Wirephoto).

The tank Flame Throwers in Holland.The tank flame throwers in action. January 22, 1945. (Photo by British Newspaper Pool Photograph).

Frankfurt, Germany, April 7, 1945Armored infantrymen of the US Third Army take cover behind a tank firing into the industrial city of Frankfurt. Smoke and dust from the exploding shells give a protective screen for Yanks who await the word to storm the city.

DN-SN-85-00758. Base: Beirut Country: Lebanon (LBN)

Royal Air Force- Italy, the Balkans and South East Europe, 1942-1945. Lieutenant-Colonel A C Bosman, 'sweep leader' (Wing Commander Flying) of No. 7 SAAF Wing, signals by Aldis lamp to pilot coming in to land at Trigno landing ground, Italy. One of the outstanding South African pilots of the war, Bosman joined No. 3 Squadron SAAF in the western Desert in 1941, rapidly becoming the unit's leading pilot. In April 1942 he briefly commander No. 2 Squadron SAAF before ending his tour of operations. He resumed operations in December 1943 in Italy, and became 7 SAAF Wing's sweep leader from January to October 1944, by which time his score was eight enemy aircraft destroyed and two shared.

D-Day, Normandy Aerial View - June 6, 1944.

DM-SN-88-09713. Base: Twentynine Palms State: California (CA) Country: United States Of America (USA)

Major Project. 1939-02-01T00:00:00. Central Plains Region (Kansas City, MO). Photographic Print. Department of the Interior. Bureau of Indian Affairs. Standing Rock Agency. 9/17/1947-. Photographs

Italian tanks making their way toward Makalle. December 15, 1935.

Royal Air Force Operations in the Middle East and North Africa, 1939-1943. Bristol Blenheim Mark VDs of No. 614 Squadron RAF undergoing maintenance and refuelling at Blida, Algeria, in preparation for a sortie.

M-60A1 main battle tanks of the 1ST Tank Battalion, 1ST Marine Division, advance toward Kuwait City during the third day of the ground offensive phase of Operation Desert Storm. Subject Operation/Series: DESERT STORM Country: Kuwait (KWT)

Reds Invade Hainan Island - This picture, made by a photographer who accompanied the Chinese Communists in their invasion of Hainan Island during April shows communist troops advancing under fire to capture a shelled out tower Defence point on the "Berlin Line." The line was named after the phonetic pronunciation of one of the names of the nationalist "Little Tiger" - General Shek Berlin York - Commanding the Hainan Defence headquarters. USA have now undertaken the Defence of Formosa Island, remaining stronghold of the nationalists. August 26, 1950. (Photo by Associated Press Photo).

Pushing the Japs Off Makin. A column of U.S. Troops are photographed by a Coast Guard Combat cameraman as they advance to continue the attack on the Japs, who have been pushed back to one end of Makin Atoll. A large Japanese seaplane is partially submerged in the lagoon following strafing by American planes. In the right foreground Japanese fuel barrels can be seen. The photographer is attached to a Coast Guard-manned combat transport that participated in the invasion

The landscape of Les Eparges, near Verdun, France, 1915. Artist: Unknown

After the smoke of battle cleared away on Tarawa Island in the Gilberts, this tiny kitty crept out from beneath a wrecked tank to receive a drink from an American Marine still in battle garb. February 17, 1944. (Photo by Official U.S. Marine Crops Photograph).

France: c. 1916 Thirteen French Navy ships steaming into action during WWI.

Germany, Wittstock, 12.11.1992, entrance to the former military training area Ruppiner Heide (Bombodrom), former Soviet occupation, action: FREIeHEIDe, war equipment on the field, lorries, dozer blades, cranes

An M-60 tank and a truck disembark from utility landing craft during an assault on the beach, part of Operation Ocean Venture '82. Subject Operation/Series: OCEAN VENTURE '82 Base: Vieques Island State: Puerto Rico (PR) Country: United States Of America (USA)

Photo collection Service for army contacts Indonesia. DLC Soukey tranquility. Soumed input: Purification actions of 3-4 R.I. If the patrol stands for a broken bridge, the men can still go across a bar to the other side, but the kissed native horse that is loaded with the radio set must be done by the Kali .. January 14, 1948. Indonesia, Java, Dutch East Indies

Normandy, France: July 11, 1944. An endless stream of supplies flow from the transports and landing craft at Normandy, headed for the front in France, while barrage balloons protect the craft from low flying enemy planes.

Anefo photo collection. Dike seal on Schiermonnikoog by Army (200 male). February 21, 1962. Friesland, Schiermonnikoog

The Invasion -- "Duwks" lined up on the beach after discharging their loads. August 14, 1944. (Photo by Photographic News Agencies Ltd.).

Photo collection Service for army contacts Indonesia. DLC Boemiajoe, Cheribon, Tom, Tjilatjap. Maurits Bay Soldiers descend to a landing craft. October 22, 1947. Indonesia, Java, Dutch East Indies

Photo collection Service for army contacts Indonesia. Tow truck draws landing vessel to land. 1947. Indonesia, Dutch East Indies

Royal Air Force- Operations in the Middle East and North Africa, 1939-1943. A Bren gun team of an RAF Regiment Anti-Aircraft Flight, await the order to move forward while securing a desert landing ground in Egypt. These units seized the Fuka and Daba landing grounds during the enemy's withdrawal following the Battle of El Alamein, capturing 300 some prisoners and clearing the area ready for the arrival of the flying squadrons.

First Action Picture Of British Airbourne Forces In Holland -- A patrol of British Paratroops searching a ruined house in Costerbeck.When the 1st., Allied the 1st. Allied Airbourne army was dropped in Holland, photographers of the Army Film and Photographic Unit were with them. This is one of the first photographs received back from them.One of the photographers writes in a letter dated Sep. 20th., "This is the fourth day if fighting an camera work is almost of the question. All day we have been under shell, morter and machine gunfire. September 27, 1944. (Photo by British Official Photograph).

Soldiers Of France Train Once More For War -- These scenes show various phases in the training routine of members of the first armored division of the French Expeditionary Forces. The personnel, men who escaped from France after German occupation and others from French territory in Africa, uses American equipment which started to arrive in North Africa in April. December 08, 1943. (Photo by William C. Allen, Associated Press Photo).

Liberator Swings Away From St. Dizier Airdrome -- After unloading its lethal load on the buildings at the end of the field. A mounting pillar of black smoke marks the grave of another Nazi airdrome. Having done its work, the B-24 Liberator banks steeply away and heads for home. In this attack on 24th March, the heavy bombers were practically unopposed, and good results were observed from the bombing. April 14, 1944. (Photo by United States Official Photograph).

Air Ministry Second World War Official Collection

Philippines/USA: American soldiers in a partially destroyed Japanese fortification keep their rifles trained on Japanese positions across the Pasig River during the Battle of Manila, 27 February 1945

Stalingrad. November 1942. German soldiers contemplate one of many Soviet tanks buried in the ground and, with only the turret out, served as a fort for the Bolshevik soldiers to defend the surroundings of the city.

Photo collection Service for army contacts Indonesia. DLC I Veldartillerie KNIL. Fruss arrangement of 1st Section Field Artillery of the KNIL. These cannons, which once protected the demarcation line at Semarang, now secure the vast area where the T-Brigade order and tranquility has reduced. September 1947. Indonesia, Dutch East Indies

Propaganda photograph of North Korean military preparing to defend the state against invasion or attack. 1963.

Photo collection Service for army contacts Indonesia. DLC Aviation day military aviation at Kemajoran airport. Anti-aircraft gun (40mm Bofors). March 9, 1947. Batavia, Indonesia, Jakarta, Kemajoran, Dutch East Indies

B-36 Wreckage -- This aerial view shows wreckage of a B-36 which crashed 10 miles North today. November 22, 1950. (Photo by AP Wirephoto).

Japan/USA: US landing craft arrive on Okinawa 13 days into the American invasion. Battle of Okinawa, May 1945

Photo collection Service for army contacts Indonesia. DLC occupied Bandoeng area. A Bren Carrier is a road through a barrier. 1946. Bandung, Indonesia, Dutch East Indies

A. I. F. in Western Desert. November 27, 1941.

After A Successful patrol, Australian return across the Rayeji-chon River in Korea. They had rushed into enemy territory with a strong motorised force gathering information. November 30, 1950. (Photo by L. Shea).

French Army - Training Recruits. Photographs of Marshall Plan Programs, Exhibits, and Personnel

Gibsonvale 1941. January 22, 1942.

The important Battle of Dien Bien Phu was fought between the Việt Minh (led by General Vo Nguyen Giap), and the French Union (led by General Henri Navarre, successor to General Raoul Salan). The siege of the French garrison lasted fifty-seven days, from 5: 30PM on March 13 to 5: 30PM on May 7, 1954. The southern outpost or fire base of the camp, Isabelle, did not follow the cease-fire order and fought until the next day at 01: 00AM; a few hours before the long-scheduled Geneva Meeting's Indochina conference involving the United States, the United Kingdom, the French Union and the Soviet Union. The battle was significant beyond the valleys of Dien Bien Phu. Giap's victory ended major French involvement in Indochina and led to the accords which partitioned Vietnam into North and South. Eventually, these conditions inspired the United States to increase their involvement in Vietnam leading to the Second Indochina War. The battle of Điện Biên Phủ is described by historians as the first tim

Abandoned By Germans During Russian Advance -- German trucks (top) were abandoned during the Russian advance in the middle Don area, while the tanks (bottom) were captured by soviet troops southwest of Stalingrad, according to the captions accompanying these Russian photos. Original of both picture were in two sections. April 14, 1943. (Photo by AP Wirephoto).

World war One: The Battle of Cambrai, 1917, Aerial bombardment during the British offensive

Tripoli - artillery outpost in desert

Anefo photo collection. Military exercise for the security of Maastunnel in Rotterdam. May 20, 1953. Rotterdam

German submarine surrenders to U.S. Navy

Lct 1332 RAF Regiment unloading 20mm guns from LCT 1332 during landings at Rangoon. Bow of LCT only visible.

A gun crew jump out of a lorry to manoeuvre their gun round a steep corner on a rise.Empire troops in the Libyan desert. March 03, 1942. (Photo by Commonwealth Department of Information).

Doughboys Advance On Okinawa: Doughboys advance behind a tank through a wooded section on Okinawa shortly after going ashore on d-day, April 1. The blast at the left was not explained. April 06, 1945. (Photo by AP Wirephoto).

Flame Throwers - Military. October 2, 1944. (Photo by British Official Photo).

English tanks in North Africa. 1941

Artillerymen in an alligator head for shore during the landing of Australian troops at Balikpapan, Dutch Borneo. July 12, 1945. (Photo by Australian Official Photo).

07/31/1936. The Republican Batteries Firing at the National Redoubts in Extremadura.

St. Julien - Cemetery of Tank - near Ypres, 1920, Belgium, maker unknown.

Water release disaster 1953.

Corner of battlefield, Haelen

Tugs Fighting Pier Fire - Tugboats with fire-fighting apparatus pour streams of waters into Grace line pier on Hudson River here this morning as fire, estimated to have done $5,000,000 damage, is brought under control. September 29, 1947. (Photo by AP Wirephoto).

Allied Troops Normandy France "D-Day" June 6, 1944

Anti-Aircraft Gun Crew Aboard a Pacific Fleet Aircraft Carrier in the Central Pacific"Anti-aircraft gun crew aboard a Pacific Fleet aircraft carrier in the Central Pacific.".

Anefo photo collection. Capitulation: Den Helder embarkation of Germans. German prisoners of war in Colonne along the Balgzanddijk? in Den Helder, with men with an Asian appearance below. 1945. Den Helder

The Hundred Days Offensive, August-november 1918

French Paratroops Smash Rebel Base -- French Paratroops land in the Langson area, July 17, during the 5,000-Paratroop Raid on the communist rebel Vietnam base there. The base, only six miles from the border of Red China, Held some 5,000 tons of communsit suppliesk, Built up during three months of deliveries from China. The French paratroops took the rebels there by surprise and during the 12 hours spent there destroyed everything that could not be carried away. Then the paratroops began a forced ***** Territory, with a relief column sent out from the Hanoi defense area. There were few French Casualties. July 21, 1953. (Photo by Associated Press Photo).

D-Day: British troops arrive at Normandy, June, 1944

Charleston, South Carolina (vicinity). Guns of Fort Johnson; Fort Sumter in distance. (Morris Island). Civil war photographs, 1861-1865 . United States, History, Civil War, 1861-1865.

Bulldozers At WorkAn LCT transported these bulldozers ashore to clean up the beach on Angular Island, one of the Palau Islands. These mechanical marvels, with the strength of a giant, fill the shell holes and clear the way for the unloading of the ships in the back ground, which carried the mechanical equipment and supplies to drive the Japanese out of this island stronghold. October 23, 1944. (Photo by Official U.S. Navy Photograph).

U.S. Soldiers Examine Wrecked Japanese Plane - This Japanese seaplane, examined by U.S. Army troops on the beech, was part of the toll paid by the enemy when American forces took Makin Atoll in the Gilbert Islands of the Central Pacific. Capture of the Gilber Atoll of Makin, Tarawa and Abemama, in which 5,700 Japanese were killed or taken prisoner furnishes the Allies with new air and naval bases from which to continue their offensive in the Pacific. April 19, 1944.

Photo collection Service for army contacts Indonesia. DLC Festivities following the birth of Princess Marijke. Saluute shots by cannon artillery. 19 February 1947. Batavia, Indonesia, Jakarta, Dutch East Indies

Royal Navy personnel of an ostacle clearance unit blowing up German beach obstacles at La Riviere, Normandy, 9 June 1944. Royal Navy Commandos of the Landing Craft Obstacle Clearance Units running to get clear while obstacles are blown up at La Riviere. Some of the invasion ships can be seen on the horizon.

Indochina Beachhead - French and Vietnam forces debark from assault boats on the Communist-held island of Ly Nhan in northern Indochina. French artillery and naval elements were used to back up the landing, designed to wipe out red forces and seize the island. March 23, 1952. (Photo by AP Wirephoto).

Photograph of Anti-Aircraft guns at the Battle of Tel el Khuweilfe, part of the Southern Palestine Offensive. Dated 1917

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